I Only Have Eyes for You
"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a popular song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written in 1934 for the film Dames where it was introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler. According to Billboard magazine, the song was a #2 hit for Ben Selvin in 1934. The orchestras of Peter Duchin and Anson Weeks also figured in the song's 1934 popularity. This song was recorded in 1950 by Peggy Lee, and most notably by The Flamingos in 1959, becoming one of their most popular hits. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the Flamingos' version #157 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. This version peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; later, this version was included on the soundtrack for the 1973 film American Graffiti. A remake of the song by Art Garfunkel was a number one song on the UK Singles Chart in October 1975 for two weeks. The song was his first hit as a solo artist in the UK, and also reached #18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the adult contemporary chart. Garfunkel performed the song on the second episode of Saturday Night Live. An episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is named after this song, and features the version by The Flamingos. It is also used as a recurring theme in a Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies cartoon of the same title, released 3 years after the original song, and directed by Tex Avery. The lines "Are the stars out tonight / I only have eyes for you" are sung by a male penguin in the animated film Happy Feet (2006). Lines from the song can also be found in the 2001 film The Others. Covers In addition to the above artists, these artists have also covered this song: *Al Jolson *Ella Fitzgerald recorded this with Nelson Riddle's orchestra on her 1966 Grammy Award Winning Verve release Ella Swings Brightly with Nelson *Doris Day Only Have Eyes for You appears on the album Golden Girl: Columbia Recordings 1944-1966. *Mark Eitzel of American Music Club released a version in 2002 on his solo CD of covers, Music for Courage and Confidence. *Mercury Rev released a cover version in 1998 as an extra track on the "Goddess on a Hiway" CD single. *Bette Midler *Marilyn Scott *Martina Topley-Bird *Jamie Cullum *Lyn Paul recorded it on her 2006 album Late Night *Rachael Price *Trumpeter Lester Bowie recorded the tune with his "Brass Fantasy" band as the title track on their debut album I Only Have Eyes for You (1986). *An acappella version by The Complexions was mixed with the Flamingos version for the 1993 film A Bronx Tale. *Elaine Paige recorded a version for her 1991 album Love Can Do That. *In 1962, Frank Sinatra recorded his version of this song accompanied by Count Basie's orchestra. The song was recorded again in 1966 when it was released as a single by The Lettermen from their album, A New Song for Young Love. *Carly Simon. *The Swedish Alex Willner, with his techno project The Field (musician), used samples of the song in the track "From Here We Go Sublime", from the acclaimed album with the same name, released in 2007. *Though not a cover, The Fugees sampled vocals from the Flamingos' version for their song "Zealots" off of their landmark 1996 album The Score. *Hi-NRG producer/songwriter Bobby Orlando did a dance version with Bonnie Forman in 1984. *The Flamingos *Rosemary Clooney did a cover version of her own. It was later featured on commercial for Lipitor. *Rod Stewart. *Zapp *Carmen McRae on the album Diva *The Southland, on their debut album Influence of Geography. *Kalil Wilson: On album Easy to Love (2009). *North Atlantic Oscillation: On album Call Signs EP (2009). References *''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition, 1996 Category:1934 songs Category:1950 singles Category:1959 singles Category:1966 singles Category:1975 singles Category:The Flamingos songs Category:The Lettermen songs Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks number-one singles Category:Songs with music by Harry Warren Category:Songs with lyrics by Al Dubin